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A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ Nicknames

Authors:
Communication and Linguistics Studies
2023; 9(2): 20-26
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/cls
doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.11
ISSN: 2469-7850 (Print); ISSN: 2380-2529 (Online)
A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ
Nicknames
Ma Jinge, Li Xiaolong
College of International Languages and Cultures, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Email address:
To cite this article:
Ma Jinge, Li Xiaolong. A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ Nicknames. Communication and Linguistics Studies.
Vol. 9, No. 2, 2023, pp. 20-26. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.11
Received: April 11, 2023; Accepted: May 2, 2023; Published: May 10, 2023
Abstract:
Language is the carriage of ideas. Social reality pushes the advancement of language, and language reflects social
reality. As the world has entered into the Age of Information, people are exposed to digital screens and online social media.
Nowadays, people, especially young people, lay great emphasis on not only their real-life individuality but also their online
images. Among all the social media apps, QQ is favored by Chinese people for a long time with over 530 million accounts. With
fewer requirements in making nicknames, the naming mechanisms of QQ nicknames provide an interesting perspective for
cognitive and linguistic study. Nicknames on social media are regarded as a mutation of people’s traditional names, allowing
people to extend their creativity and project their personalities on the nicknames. This research chooses the QQ nicknames of the
Grade 2020 undergraduates at Hohai University as research objectives. To find out the feature of the nicknames of the target
group and explore the naming mechanisms underlying the nicknames, first, the essay goes through previous studies on the
naming mechanisms and absorbs related research experience, and second, establishes a theoretical framework that includes three
models: Event-domain Cognitive Model (ECM), the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CM
1
), and the Conceptual Metonymy
Theory (CM
2
). After collecting 255 QQ nicknames and establishing a closed corpus of the nicknames, this paper makes
reasonable categorization for further study. To solve the rest of the research problems, a thorough analysis is made and two
compound models are established. Results show that the QQNE+CM
1
Model is the most commonly seen naming mechanism of
the target group. At the end of the paper, a discussion and evaluation of the entire research are done. This essay provides a new
aspect for understanding the naming mechanisms of the young generation and may be conducive to further related studies.
Keywords:
QQ Nicknames, ECM
+
Model, Cognitive Mechanism, Online Personal Identity
1. Introduction
1.1. Research Background
American social researchers and demographers Mark
McCrindle, Billy Idol, Neil Howe, and William Strauss
categorized kids who were born in different periods of history
into different groups, respectively, the Lost Generation
(1883-1900), the Greatest Generation (1901-1927), the Silent
Generation (1928-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964),
Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996),
Generation Z (1997-2012), and Generation Alpha (early
2010s-mid 2020s) [4]. Commonly speaking, we regard kids
that are born under the same historical period as a certain
group sharing the same or similar personality mask. Among
them, Generation Z, to which the author also belongs, is
characteristic of exposure to digital screens and the great
influence of the internet, described as “native users of
technology” [10]. Growing up in this period when social
media and online communication thrive to prosperity, Gen Z
tends to deal with interpersonal contact through phones rather
than face-to-face communication. They place great emphasis
on shaping their image and identity in a virtual world, and thus,
just like people’s identities in the real world, the online
nickname is an important component of this shaping process.
In China, nowadays, there are many social media that
allows online communication, including Weibo, QQ, and
WeChat (Weixin). QQ is an online chatting app developed by
Tencent Company for the first time in 1999, and it gradually
went viral as people became more and more interested in using
the online account to keep each other in contact. It has become
one of the most popular online chatting channels, especially
Communication and Linguistics Studies 2023; 9(2): 20-26 21
among young people.
QQ nicknames are a type of online code name, which can
also be seen as the transformation of traditional real-life
names. QQ nicknames vary greatly from the names in reality,
and compared to traditional names, they are more diverse in
form, richer in content and expression, concealed in identity,
and can be changed easily. This is mainly because the
requirement for a QQ nickname is loose, which allows the
usage of any type of language, symbols, punctuation, and
emojis, and this means that QQ nicknames turn out to be in
multiple forms that may completely differ from what we
conventionally think of as a decent “name”.
Therefore, when it comes to the naming of their QQ ID,
users may extend their ideas or personalities, and make
creative nicknames that will hardly be regarded as real usable
names in reality. Therefore, by probing into different kinds of
QQ nicknames, we may figure out different types of online
nicknames and the cognitive mechanism behind QQ
nicknames.
1.2. Research Objectives
This research is aimed at probing into the naming
mechanisms of the QQ nicknames of Grade 2020
undergraduates at Hohai University from a cognitive
perspective. After establishing a complete theoretical
framework, which is the combination of Event-domain
Cognitive Mechanism, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, and
Conceptual Metonymy Theory, the paper will construct a
closed corpus of QQ nicknames used by the target group and
categorize the nicknames for the sake of a sum-up and
classification of the naming patterns.
1.3. Innovation of the Research
There are two innovations regarding this research. First, the
introduction of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory is one of the
most important innovations of relevant research. That is
because, in past studies related to charactonym, only
metonymic naming is considered to be reasonable. However,
as the naming context moves to the online environment, the
metaphor mechanism also becomes important and starts to
play an indispensable role in forming a nickname. Second, this
essay selects the QQ nicknames as the research objectives. So
far, there hasn’t been much research related to online
nicknames and cognitive mechanism analysis from a
linguistic level. Most of the naming research is conducted on
the basis of sociology or else.
1.4. Significance of the Research
Although personal and individual, names play an important
role in social interactions and impressions. In fact, social
connection is not only a significant section of being human but
is also a key to human happiness and health. Similar to
people’s communication in real life, online friend-making or
communication is also influenced, more or less, by the
impression of nicknames. Particularly, people may choose to
conceal their real looking, and this makes the rest of personal
information takes up even more responsibility in
communication. By studying the naming mechanism, we can
find a reasonable explanation for students’ online preferences,
and what they intend to be recognized as.
Social media feeds our intersecting human needs for
connection, reward, and novelty—leaving us vulnerable to
screens and online communication. The fast development of
online chatting and friend-making apps helps with the
prosperity of screen chatting, and people, especially young
people, turn to pay more attention to their online social media
images. Through social media, young people need to create a
personal profile that allows their full personalities to flow.
Therefore, the study of QQ nicknames from a cognitive and
linguistic perspective provides a new angle to dig into the
function of online nicknames and suggests a new way to paint a
big picture of the overall personality of the young generation.
We should note here that the nicknames should be viewed
as providing evidence of people’s particular preferences at a
particular time in their life. They may change over time for a
variety of reasons. These patterns are not static or fixed. Still,
by selecting a certain group of youngsters and concluding the
naming mechanisms, we can figure out the significance of
nicknames for people.
2. Literature Review
Naming mechanisms are a significant component in the study
of charactonym, toponym, sociology, and cross-study related to
the technology field. Studies of naming mechanisms overseas
usually focus on sociology. Watkins and London conducted
social surveys in 1994 regarding the naming habit of Jews and
Italians of the year 1910 [13]. Lieberson and Mikelson discussed
the naming features of African Americans the next year [8]. Perl
and Wiggins turned to the naming characteristics of Protestants
and Catholics in the U.S. and reached their results in 2004 [9].
Bhatia (2005) discussed the naming patterns of violent characters
[1]. In China, Zhao Yue (2013) discussed the function of
metaphor in the nickname of football team names; Leng (2016)
and Huang (2019) respectively made their studies on toponym of
the U.K. and the U.S., while Li (2016) and Xiao (2021) turned
their eyesight to the naming of traditional Chinese cuisines and
drink [14]. Apart from these, Jia (2020) extended to the naming
of historical celebrities’ nicknames and Zhu (2020) made an
analysis on charactonym of Lu Xun’s literary works [15].
3. Theoretical Framework
3.1. Event-Domain Cognitive Model
The cognitive model covers all the cognitive
representations of knowledge stored in a certain domain [11].
Chinese scholar Wang Yin (2005) comes up with the
Event-Domain Cognitive Model (ECM) [12], which aims at
providing not only a linear but also a hierarchical structure that
deals with both static and dynamic elements in semantic,
syntax, pragmatics, and other linguistic studies. The basic
structure of this model is shown in Figure 1:
22 Ma Jinge and Li Xiaolong: A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ Nicknames
Figure 1. Event-Domain Cognitive Model.
Wang suggested that people interact with the secular world
through units of events and develop their own cognition. This
means that the language expressions are shaped by the impact
of these events. From Figure 1, we can see that there are three
levels in this cognitive system. “EVENT” consists of two
elements: Actions and Beings. Actions refer to both dynamic
and static behaviors, and Beings indicate both concrete
concepts and abstract or virtual concepts like people, things,
etc. For the third level, we use distinctive features to describe
Actions and categorical information to link with certain
Beings. Besides, the event still is not completely divided from
other events and is confined to an approximate range, the
dotted line around it showing this notion.
3.2. Conceptual Metaphor (CM
1
) Theory
As a language usage, a metaphor states that one thing is
another thing [6]. It equates those two things for the sake of
comparison or symbolism, not because two domains are the
same. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) first argued that conceptual
metaphor denotes the conventional relationship between one
domain and another, while “concept” means the motivation of
metaphor at the conceptual level [2]. They pointed out that
metaphor is not just a rhetorical phenomenon in language, but
also a sort of thinking pattern for people to recognize and
understand things. In other words, the essence of metaphor is
to comprehend and embody one type of thing in terms of
another [5].
In naming mechanisms, the functioning of CM
1
could be
illustrated as follows:
Figure 2. CM
1
Mechanism in Naming.
3.3. Conceptual Metonymy (CM
2
) Theory
The conceptual metonymy theory was also proposed by
Lakoff and Johnson in 1980 for the first time. Lakoff and
Turner (1989) regarded metonymy as “one entity is employed
to substitute for the other due to their coexistence in the same
domain”. Same to CM
1
Theory, conceptual metonymy is also
a cognitive mechanism for human thought and language
expressions [2]. The major difference is that metaphor is the
cross-domain mapping based on the similarity between two
objects, while metonymy is a mapping process that occurs in
the same domain reflecting the projection based on correlation.
Metonymic usage is also found in naming patterns [3], owing
to that metonymy is the most fundamental process of meaning
expansion, more important than metaphor [7].
When this cognitive mechanism is perceived in the QQ
nicknames, the function can be described in Figure 3:
Figure 3. CM2 Mechanism in Naming.
3.4. Summary
In making a QQ nickname for themselves, people adopt
both the metonymy mechanism and the metaphor mechanism.
On one hand, people tend to select the salient feature of one
thing and use a nickname to show this feature [3]—this leads
to the function of the metonymy mechanism. On the other
hand, people find similarities of themselves with other
domains, and the nicknames may turn out to be exactly this
domain—this leads to the function of the metonymy
mechanism. In traditional naming of China, people hardly will
use the metaphor mechanism to name themselves, yet on the
internet, the metaphor mechanism may also be found.
4. Methodology
4.1. Research Questions
To meet the purposes of this essay, it is necessary to solve
the following three questions:
(1) How are the naming patterns of the QQ nickname
classified, based on what principle?
(2) What is the main cognitive mechanism functioning
behind the naming of the QQ nicknames among the
target research group?
(3) What is the salient feature of the QQ nicknames for the
target research group?
4.2. Data Collection
In this part, the process from the selection of the original
samples to a full analysis of the linguistic phenomenon will be
illustrated in detail. To step down to analyze the naming
mechanism, the first step is to gather representative samples.
This part includes two sections, the collection of QQ
nicknames and the construction of a closed corpus of QQ
nicknames.
4.2.1. The Selection of the QQ Nicknames
This research mainly focuses on the naming tendency and
Communication and Linguistics Studies 2023; 9(2): 20-26 23
features of the undergraduates of Grade 2020 at Hohai
University, which composes the source of the corpus. QQ
nicknames that are accessed and used in this paper are all from
the contact list of the author, and these QQ IDs are all used and
controlled by real-life Chinese students from Grade 2020. The
naming of their QQ nicknames is at the willingness of the
users themselves without any interference from the research.
Altogether, 255 names will be used as the research objectives.
The names are selected directly and fairly without the
awareness of gender or the major of the users.
4.2.2. The Construction of the Corpus of QQ Nicknames
The detailed process of building a closed corpus of the QQ
nicknames is as follows. First, all nicknames are filtered and
selected to make sure that the nicknames are qualified for this
research, and are filed in the TXT document 1. Second, the
nicknames are checked in case of possible repetition. Since the
QQ system allows many people to share one same nickname
and the number of the sample is quite large, two students may
happen to use one nickname. If there exists one name used by
more than one person, then the name will be eliminated to
only one and the difference will be compensated to ensure the
richness and diversity of the corpus. In the collection and
checking process, there is no such situation, which means that
each nickname is used by one only. Third, the list of 255 QQ
nicknames is classified into four groups roughly, respectively
“In Chinese (Only)”, “In Other Foreign Languages”, “In
Emoji or Pure Punctuations”, and “In Blending Characters”
and will be stored in an EXCEL file. Thus, visually, all 255
nicknames are set apart. Moreover, considering that in
different languages, there exist differences in grammar and
expressions, the first-step categorization is necessary for the
coming detailed analysis. After this process, further analysis
could be given to each group by applying different theories.
After the initial comb, we can see 120 nicknames are in pure
Chinese characters; 62 nicknames are in English, French, or
other languages; 18 nicknames are made up of only symbols
like emojis or punctuations, and 55 nicknames are composed
of more than one type of characters. In the end, a second check
is to ensure that the 255 nicknames in the EXCEL file are the
same as those in the TXT file. Pausing at this stage, the
condition of the QQ nicknames of Grade 2020 undergraduates
at Hohai Universities can be illustrated in Figure 4:
Figure 4. Types of QQ Nicknames Distribution.
4.2.3. Summary
In brief, from this pie chart, we can see that the naming in
pure Chinese characters takes up nearly half of the 255
nicknames. This is highly related to students’ mother tongue
habits and their closeness to Chinese. Apart from this, students
favor nicknames in other foreign languages as well as in
blending symbols. However, in recent years, netizens among
which students consist of a large proportion are getting used to
the usage of punctuation and vivid emojis, still, only 7.06% of
the students would use them as their nicknames. What can be
reflected from this result can be explained from the aspect of
linguistics.
This result shows that QQ nicknames in complete Chinese
characters are the most popular naming strategy for the target
group. Therefore, the following analysis will adapt the case
study method to illustrate the function of the naming
mechanisms in these Chinese QQ nicknames.
4.3. Data Analysis
Based on the ECM, the following analysis is based on the
event which can be deemed as the QQ Nickname Event
(QQNE). According to the closed corpus of the QQ nicknames,
there mainly are two compound models that play their roles in
the naming mechanisms of QQ nicknames. For the sake of the
simplicity of scenarios, the case study method will be
introduced into the analysis.
4.3.1. QQNE+CM
1
Model
For this model to function, we attempt to study the naming
mechanisms of the QQ nicknames entailing metaphor. Here is
a case study.
The QQ nickname “April Sliced Silk/四月裂帛is a good
case to probe into. The naming pattern is typical. Literally, we
can learn that the naming element “time (i.e., April/四月)”
refers to the exterior look, and the naming element “Sliced/
describes the naming element “condition”. The last element is
a type of traditional Chinese cloth. Therefore, we can form the
nickname’s particular naming pattern, which is “time +
condition + material”, and it is easy to understand that the
nickname for a human is structured by a material metaphor.
This makes it reasonable to resort to the QQNE+CM
1
Model.
After this process, the cognitive framework explained by
CEM behind this naming pattern is established, as is shown in
Figure 5.
Figure 5. Application of QQNE+CM
1
Model in Analyzing the Nickname
“April Sliced Silk/
四月裂帛
”.
Similar to this name, the number of QQ nicknames that are
made under this cognitive mechanism takes up the largest
24 Ma Jinge and Li Xiaolong: A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ Nicknames
proportion according to the corpus. There are altogether 71
QQ nicknames that can be explained under this model, which
take up 27.84% of all types of naming.
4.3.2. QQNE+CM
2
Model
To make this model function, we need to bring the
metonymy into play. As for metonymy, there lies the
correlation within the same domain, which is the QQ user.
Here is a typical case to illustrate this model.
For the QQ nickname “Princess Cut Eating Houttuynia
cordata Thunb/吃折耳根的公主切”, we have the naming
element “haircut style (i.e., Princess Cut/公主切)”, yet here
referring to the person who has the haircut of the Princess Cut,
and the naming element “food (i.e., Houttuynia cordata
Thunb/折耳根)”, indicating the food this person is eating.
There are conceivably two actions, respectively cut and eat.
Therefore, the naming pattern “state + food + style of haircut”
can be acquired. Since the name “Princess Cut/公主切” refers
to the concept of a person, we can see that this name is
structured in the form of metonymy. In this case, we have the
naming pattern that can be outlined in Figure 6:
Figure 6. Application of QQNE+CM
2
Model in Analyzing the Nickname
“Princess Cut Eating Houttuynia cordata Thunb/
吃折耳根的公主切
”.
This naming mechanism is also easily seen, as 43
nicknames fit this model, taking up 16.86% of the 255.
4.3.3. Single Chinese Character Naming
According to the ECM, we need to work out the naming
elements of different types of nicknames. For QQ nicknames
that consist of only Chinese characters, we have the following
six cases out of the 255. In Table 1, the meaning and the part
of speech will be illustrated:
Table 1. One-Character Nickname.
QQ Nickname Chinese Meaning Part of Speech
refreshing; describing the sound of wind a.
transparent and clear a.
high a.
a wise and capable king in ancient China n.
river; waterway n.
fog n.
a type of worm n.
We can conclude from this table that the one-character
nicknames are characteristic of being adjectives or nouns. The
noun words refer to naturally existing beings, and adjective
words denote a description of pleasing feelings. The
simplicity of the one-character nicknames brings the naming
mechanism out of the explanation of both models above, yet
the function of CM
1
can be found in the nicknames that are
considered to be a noun, and the function of CM
2
can be
applied to nicknames that are adjectives. Moreover, because
of the complexity of the part of speech of one word, this type
of nickname allows multiple understandings, which reflects
the users’ thoughts to some extent.
5. Results and Discussion
5.1. Major Results
This research has made a thorough analysis of the naming
mechanism of QQ nicknames of Grade 2020 undergraduates
at Hohai University on the foundation of ECM, CM
1
, and CM
2
.
By exploring and comparing the nicknames, we have reached
the following results:
(1) In the first stage, 255 QQ nicknames are divided into
four sections. 120 nicknames are consisting of only
Chinese characters, taking up 47.06%; 62 nicknames are
composed of other foreign languages, which is a
proportion of 24.31%; 55 nicknames blend different
types of symbols and 18 nicknames are completely
formed by punctuations, emojis, or other symbols.
(2) Naming elements used in QQ nicknames cover color,
haircut style, occupation, shape, social behavior, and so
on. Based on the corpus, the naming elements reveal
diversity and divergence from a single typical element,
(3) Among the Chinese character nicknames, there are 71
QQ nicknames following the QQNE + CM
1
Model,
which takes up 27.84% among all the 255 nicknames.
This is the most commonly applies cognitive
mechanism underlying naming patterns.
(4) Among the Chinese character nicknames, there are 43
QQ nicknames following the QQNE + CM
2
Model,
taking up 16.86% among the 255 nicknames.
5.2. Discussion
At the beginning of the essay, the idea that names can
represent the personality, personal character, or other
individual reflections has been mentioned. In reality, names
are not originally decided by the person who is called the
name. Moreover, a certain trend of naming patterns may
appear, like in Chinese girl names, for example, the character
or is repeatedly applied sometimes. However, on
the Internet, digital identities are way more diverse and
individual. Therefore, from the QQ nicknames, the most
popular chatting app in the younger generation of China,
Communication and Linguistics Studies 2023; 9(2): 20-26 25
researchers could get a better picture of the characteristics of
this group of people in society.
In the process of analysis, all three questions are explained.
This part will give a conclusive and general response to the
questions this essay deals with. First, the classification of the
QQ nicknames and the principle of the classification. This
essay divides 255 QQ nicknames into four categories. Based
on the different languages used, considering the mother
tongue of the users, Chinese is specifically listed as a type,
while other foreign languages like French or English also
appear in the selection of the nicknames, and the using of
Chinese characters takes up the most proportion. The
different preferences of language reflect the linguistic culture
in reality. As the process of globalization is getting more
thorough, language exchange and spread come with this
trend as well. In China, one of the necessary sections of
children’s education is second language learning. Most
Chinese kids have their foreign language names in real life.
As a projection of their real-life identities, directly using their
foreign language names as their QQ nicknames is
understandable. Since the naming limit of QQ nicknames is
not limited too much, different symbols and characters can be
used. Cyberculture and certain trends on the Internet will
influence the selection of naming compositions. The use of
symbols includes punctuation like period or slash, emojis, etc.
Apart from the pure use of a single element, youngsters will
combine them together as well.
Second, the major cognitive mechanism behind the naming
patterns of the target group. According to the results, the
QQNE + CM
1
Model is most commonly seen. For a digital
identity, forming a personality with the help of a metaphor is
relatively simple and easy to understand. A metaphor
compares two subjects who resemble each other in a certain
characteristic. Using a metaphor also adds to the literacy of a
name. The personal pursuit, favor, or other traits are revealed
in a reserved way, which makes it interesting to dig into the
meanings between the lines. That most Grade 2020 in Hohai
University choose this way to name their QQ account reflects
the complexity of the youngsters’ personalities as well.
Third, the salient feature of the QQ nicknames of the target
group. From Figure 4, statistics show that nearly half of the
target group uses pure Chinese characters as their QQ
nicknames. The single Chinese character pattern, phrases,
and even clauses or sentences are all used. This indicates the
great influence of the user’s mother tongue. If in real life,
they are addressed in this language, then on the Internet, they
naturally incline to continue the use of Chinese to reveal their
individualities. The use of foreign languages follows. This
indicates that, even though on the Internet, people are still
less willing to divide their digital names from human
language. Emojis and punctuations are quite special but in
order to form an online identity, they prefer the use of
traditional languages and wordings. The content or meaning
can be peculiar, but the composition of elements is
universally understandable. Cyber expressions like emojis
may add to the diversity of the naming pattern, but more tend
to blend them with human wordings rather than simply using
an emoji as their nicknames.
In echo with the real-life naming in reality mentioned at
the start of this section, the Internet world is way less
monotonous. While collecting the 255 nicknames, none of
the QQ nicknames repeat. However, in real life, the users’
names come similar or even the same from time to time. This
is proof that probing into the cyber world may present us
with a brand-new panorama of the current social situation.
5.3. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Research
This research illustrates a brief analysis of the QQ
nicknames of Grade 2020 undergraduates at Hohai University
and provides feasible strategies for further research. However,
some improvements can also be made. Here are the strengths
and weaknesses of this research.
5.3.1. Strengths
(1) This research limits the target research group within the
range of Grade 2020 undergraduates at Hohai
University. The target group makes it easy to the
establishment of a closed corpus and could include
typical samples in the research.
(2) This research creatively introduces the Conceptual
Metaphor Theory into the naming mechanisms of
people, which provides a perspective for similar
research and opens a new angle for online identity
analysis.
(3) From the linguistic and cognitive perspective, this essay
deals with a social media language phenomenon based
on a complete theoretical framework, which makes the
study theoretically and methodologically reasonable
and feasible.
5.3.2. Weaknesses
(1) Still, only 255 nicknames that are collected could not
include all the nicknames. If the condition allows, it is a
better strategy to gather as many nicknames as possible
to create a bigger closed corpus.
(2) For the convenience of understanding, this essay only
presents case studies of the cognitive models, rather
than listing all the exact nicknames. In order to better
understand the function of different cognitive
mechanisms, more examples could be analyzed in future
studies.
6. Conclusion
The cognitive mechanisms functioning behind social media
nicknames and traditional names share something in common,
yet also differ from each other. For Generation Z, social media
offers a virtual world that allows various ideas and
imaginations to flow, and young people, as they grow up with
the development of the internet, project part of themselves
onto their digital identities. First, this essay manages to
establish two important cognitive mechanisms underlying the
naming patterns with the basis of three important theoretical
support. Second, it provides original statistics aimed at Grade
26 Ma Jinge and Li Xiaolong: A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of QQ Nicknames
2020 undergraduates at Hohai University. Third, this essay
concludes the results and discusses the implications and
limitations of the research. To sum up, this essay solves the
research problems and offers research angles worth
consideration. By analyzing the naming mechanism behind
their QQ nicknames, we are able to take a glimpse into their
reflection on the social reality around them, and by
comparisons and contrasts, portray the overall generation
feature regarding their attitudes to their online identities.
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ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
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Many African American parents create unique names for their children. Although in the United States there are no formal "rules" limiting the sounds parents may combine in creating a child's name, innovative names are not simply free-floating imaginative acts; they actually incorporate certain implicit practices found in the culture of both Whites and African Americans. Consequently, on hearing an innovative name, a stranger usually can guess the sex of the child. We are able to infer the linguistic features that influence innovations because these features appear more appropriate or less appropriate, depending on the sex of the child. We interpret our observations in terms of a cultural perspective on innovation which argues that the existing culture operates as an independent force to set bounds on creativity and imagination, independent of the influence of organizations or institutions. We also evaluate an alternative perspective. We analyze innovative naming patterns in the past 75 years and then consider both the influence of African heritage in America and the thrust toward African roots in recent decades. Here too we find a naming mechanism whereby adopted African names are modified by American linguistic conventions.
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This introductory paper identifies some of the core background themes and theories through which the ‘politics of naming' and other forms of discourse conflict can be examined. The focus is on the nature, power, role and function of names, with a final section examining the ethics of naming and examining terrorism. The central unifying theme is the contested relationship between the actual nature of a movement and the name applied, particularly in terms of the attempt to identify the essence or true nature of a movement and how this relates to other dissenting or surrounding factors. Once assigned, the power of a name is such that the process by which the name was selected generally disappears and a series of normative associations, motives and characteristics are attached to the named subject. Indeed, the long historical relationship between the naming of opponents, empire and colonialism, as well as the manner in which the global media frame armed conflict, only provide further reason to doubt the truthfulness of the names assigned, and their ability to address the micro-realities involved in these conflicts and movements.
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What Are the Core Characteristics of Generation Z? What Are the Core Characteristics of Generation Z? -The Annie E. Casey Foundation (aecf.org)
  • Annie E The
  • Casey Foundation
THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION. (2021) What Are the Core Characteristics of Generation Z? What Are the Core Characteristics of Generation Z? -The Annie E. Casey Foundation (aecf.org).
Event Domain Cognitive Model and Its Explanatory Power
  • Wang Yin
Wang Yin. (2005). Event Domain Cognitive Model and Its Explanatory Power. Modern Foreign Languages (01), 17-26+108.
A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of Chinese Green Tea Names (A thesis submitted to Foreign Studies College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the
  • Xiao Chenxing
Xiao Chenxing. (2021). A Cognitive Study on Naming Mechanisms of Chinese Green Tea Names (A thesis submitted to Foreign Studies College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Subject of English Language and Literature, Hunan Normal University). https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD 202202&filename=1022428774.nh
A Research on Charactonym Naming Based on the EMS + Model: A Case Study of Call to Arms and Wandering of Lu Xun (A thesis submitted to the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language and Literature
  • Zhu Wenli
Zhu Wenli. (2020). A Research on Charactonym Naming Based on the EMS + Model: A Case Study of Call to Arms and Wandering of Lu Xun (A thesis submitted to the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language and Literature, Sichuan International Studies University).